Guardian Angel
by SiiAh
Summary: Katara dies and to get her life back, she must do the impossible and be an Guardian Angel, for no other then, Prince Zuko. [ZK]


--->VEIWERS READ THIS! VERY IMPORTANT IF YOU WISH TO READ! 

ok now this one i had to do over again. 

REASON 1- SOMEONE FLAMED SAYING THINGS ABOUT GOD IS NOT A SHE AND BLAH BLAH BLAH. AND THEY SAID THAT OTHER PPL'S RELIGONS ARE DIFFERENT SEEING AS THEY HAVE LIKE A 100 GODS OR SOMTHING. SO THE PERSON GAVE ME A LECTURE, AND I WAS PISSED SO I DELETED IT. I WASN'T GOING TO DO WHAT THEY SAID BUT MY FRIENDS AGREED. WATEVER. 

REASON 2- MY FUCKING COMPUTER ERASED ALL MY FILES, SO I HAD TO START OVER AGAIN. SO I STARTED OVER. WITH NO ZHAO, CUZ HES DEAD! OK! NOW THIS ONE IS DIFFERENT, YOU HAVE TO READ! 

I MADE THIS ONE LONG, CUZ IM REALLY SORRY YOU HAVE TO READ THIS ALL OVER AGAIN. SORRY! 

* * *

"Let her go!" Aang cried out in anger, tears ready to burst out of his eyes. But that plead only made the teenage girl bring the knife closer to Katara's neck. She held Katara's battered body close to her, draping the weapon over her soft chocolate skin. Her smirk that was plastered on her face sickened Aang to the last minute.

"Don't be so naive Avatar, you wouldn't think I would just let her go, now would I?"

Aang wanted to be anywhere but here. He hated this. Everything. He just wanted to kill himself, and his friends would be home sleeping peacefully on their cots. But no, just because of him, Katara was going to die, and Sokka, well who knows if he is dead or alive right now.

Aang wanted so badly to be at the teenage girl's feet crying, and begging her to let her go. But that was just what the teenage girl wanted. So many choices, so many limited in the Avatar's mind. And Aang could already feel tears prickle down his sweaty face. Maybe just save her? No, there was too much on Aang's mind for him to even think about bending. He didn't even know who this teenage girl was in fact, just that she looked to be the same age as Katara, had piercing golden eyes, pale white skin, and black silky hair with an attitude.

Aang took a quick glace at Sokka, quick enough to check on him, and then check on the girl clutching his best friend. Sokka's assaulted body lay limply on the ground, cuts and bruises everywhere. He was motionless, but luckily, Aang could still see him breathing steadily.

Aang's dark gray eyes forced itself on Katara's. Oh, how he'd rather die than see her like this. Katara's once before flawless skin was now bruised and beaten, and she was in the grasp of this girl he didn't even know waiting to be killed. She was half-dead, motionless, but she was alive. She knew what was going on, and her eyes were pleading to Aang, begging him to go and leave her there to die. This picture would haunt Aang for the rest of his life. It sent chills down his back to see her eyes like that, and how he would when she was dead, those beautiful glimmers in her cobalt blue eyes shine away and disappear.

"Awww, now you're crying…Ok Avatar, let's make a deal, shall we?"

Aang only stared.

"Give yourself to me, and I just might spare her life." The girl said, mockingly spreading her smirk larger.

Katara's eyes grew in fear, but her body wouldn't and couldn't do anything about it. She just wish she could scream out to Aang, tell him to go and leave. But nothing came out but dry air and a moan.

Aang felt relief wash over. Katara was going to live! He sighed peacefully and looked at the girl in disgust. He already loathed her and he practically just met her.

Well, what other choices did he have?

"Ok you win…I'll come with you and you let her go."

Aang landed on his knees, and looked sadly at the black haired girl, then to the ground.

"Men! Take him to the ship, and make sure he doesn't get away. No air bending Avatar or death shall be her future." The teenage girl laid her eyes on the girl she was grasping. "Such a lovely little girl, it would be a shame just kill her…" she brought the knife so close; Katara could feel the sharp material caress her chocolate skin until a thin line of blood appeared, crawling down to her shoulder bone.

"No! You said you wouldn't hurt her!"

"I won't you fool, just no escaping or any tricks or she'll be on her way to the afterlife."

Aang didn't know how much he was crying, but he complied when the girl said no air bending and let her men tie his hands up. They shoved him forward, but he never took his eyes off of the girl and Katara.

Zula, the teenage girl, knew that the Avatar was still full of uncertainty with the look in his eyes, so she decided to say some words to at least comfort him of his friends safety even though she _was _lying. She was always good at lying.

"Just go on my ship and you'll sleep well tonight in your cell thinking you did the right thing, Avatar."

The girl's smirk grew wider (like she could anymore), and her eyes, despite how much Aang hated them, he could read them clearly. Lie. She is lying.

Lie 

No…she said she would let her go. Aang didn't know whom to believe. Himself or that killer. Aang bit his lip as he watched his best friend (secret crush) get smaller and smaller as the men shoved him forward. Once the distance was far, Aang breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the black haired girl push Katara out of her clutches. She was safe.

Or so he thought.

-

Zula pushed the girl out of her grasp and saw her land on the ground with a thump and a groan. She snickered thinking what a genius she was. Taking a quick glance behind herself, she saw the Avatar nod in approval then bring his head down looking away from her.

Zula looked back at the girl. "You're no use for me anymore peasant. You'd just save him in the end, and I don't want that happening, correct?" she crouched down, holding her face with her rough slender hands and whispered in her ear, "too bad I'm going to kill you."

—_Stab_

When the glitter in her ocean blue eyes gave out, Zula chuckled while wiping the evidence off herself. Taking back the bloody knife from her heart with an easy tug, she cleaned it with the cloth from the girl's clothes.

Zula looked up at the horizon, watching the sun die down, giving a last farewell till tomorrow. Giving herself a well done, she kicked the dead girl down the hill, that lead up to the rushing river. Zula never stopped smirking, and never felt even the tinge of sympathy. Dusting off her armor, she took a short glimpse at the flaccid body across from her.

'That boy couldn't do anything even if he tried…'

Zula snickered at her own joke and walked hand in hand behind her back to her ship planning her arrival to daddy. She wanted to make him more proud of her, and she briefly thought why it's been taking her brother so long to capture the Avatar. Well, she would rub it in his face soon and finish her task given by daddy.

'I can't wait to destroy my worthless big brother!'

-

Katara watched the blurry girl crouch next to her. She said something but Katara couldn't make it out. Everything around her felt surreal, and she even forgot who she was and what she was doing here. All she knew that she was in pain.

"_Too bad I'm going to kill you."_

Then she felt unfocused. She felt as though she had been completely drenched in cold water. Her heart echoed loudly in her chest and she heard an eerie screech of something being torn apart. She felt as if she wasn't there anymore, like she was torn from something. She felt very num and cold, freezing actually. She could faintly hear voices, and her heart dying away, slowing down with every passing second, which seemed like years for Katara.

Once her heart gave out one last weak beat, blackness consumed her as she slowly slipped away from the earth, falling beneath the soil on the very ground.

And that was when Katara of the Southern Water Tribe, died.

-

Zuko didn't know if he was going crazy or not.

Almost everywhere he went, he felt like he was being watched carefully with every step he took. Sometimes he would try to ignore it, but it would be so intensifying, he would franticly look behind himself. And almost every time, no one was there (sometimes one of his crew members would be there, fearfully looking at him or his Uncle looking amused somewhat, or just questionably).

Sometimes he could hear cracks and creaks while he walked aboard the ship, and when he halted to a stop to make sure it wasn't himself, he could hear it still, only for a moment, then silence as if the 'presence'—what Zuko called it—stopped too.

The weird thing is, every time he went to do his 'business' in the bathroom, the 'presence' never followed him. Or in shorter terms, he felt like he wasn't being watched anymore. And all of this started 2 days ago!

'_Maybe I'm just exaggerating…'_

Zuko sighed and closed his eyes feeling for the bridge of his nose to massage it. Shuffling uncomfortably in his bed, he let out a frustrated growl. Once again, he wasn't alone—well, that's how he felt.

Opening his golden orbs to the darkness again, he peered across the room, looking intensely for something or someone right there beside him.

Nothing.

Yes, Zuko was definitely going crazy.

And not only Zuko found out he was crazy just then, he also couldn't sleep because he was extremely uncomfortable. So uncomfortable in fact, he almost wanted to run to Uncle.

Zuko shook his head getting rid of such a foolish thought. Zuko was strong and a man, not a weak, defenseless little girl. He wasn't like that stupid water tribe girl who thinks she can do anything…peasant…

Sighing, he closed his eyes once more, praying for sleep to overcome him. That's when he began thinking about the Avatar. They haven't spotted him in days after their encounter on Jade Island. It was getting frustrating, and most of all, boring. Sure he trained and all, and listened to Uncle's stupid proverbs, but overall it was very boring. Tiring. Frustrating. And boring.

Zuko even missed Zhao chasing his tale, too bad he died from the water spirit…

Zuko shifted positions in his bed, thinking of where the Avatar could be. Not one single trace of him…if he kept this up, Zuko could never return to his home.

Frowning, Zuko faced the wall, eyes locking on the fire nation banner draping over the iron wall.

Never return home. Never return to his father. Never restore his honor. Never again to see the blessed lands of the fire nation. Never again to see the palace he used to walk and play in. Never again…

Zuko fell asleep in a matter of seconds.

-

_Every turn Zuko made, it was a living nightmare. _

"_You will fight me!"_

_Another turn._

"_Bye big brother, hope you die along your journey to find the 'Avatar'"_

_Her laugh made his body stiff._

Another turn.

"_If your father really wanted you home, he would have let you return by now, Avatar or no Avatar."_

Panting heavily, Zuko felt sweat tracing down his face.

"_You are a disgrace to the fire nation."_

Another turn. And this turn sent shivers running laps down his back, no matter how hot he was. It was a girl, standing there with the saddest frown on her tear stained face. Her hair was tangled and she looked deathly pale even on her tanned skin.

And it just came to Zuko that it was that peasant traveling with the Avatar.

Zuko's first thought was to attack her and force her to tell him where the Avatar was. But when she looked up at him with the most heartbreaking eyes he'd ever seen, she backed away fearfully into the darkness.

"_You will learn respect, and suffering will be your teacher."_

Turning around for the owner of the voice, a fireball was soon hurled at him by his father.

-

Zuko woke up sweating, finding the metal floor in his face. Grumbling, he forced himself up, but fell back down, due to gravity and the ship's toss. A flicker of lightning illuminated the sky as Zuko got a better sight of the room around him for a brief moment, and then it was back to blackness. A steady rumble of thunder echoed throughout the night as Zuko was tossed to the other side of the room, banging his head on the iron wall. Dizzy and motion sickened, Zuko got back on his feet wobbly, using the wall for support.

'Stupid storm…'

The rain tattered on the new ship (A/N after the North Pole, they went down south following the Avatar and on the way they 'stole' a fire navy ship (Uncle left a fair amount of cash for them), and found them on an island, Avatar got away again, and Zuko has been looking for them ever since) as Zuko leaped over to the door, opening it. For a second, Zuko thought he saw a dark figure in the corner of his eye, but as another flicker of lighting cracked, it was gone.

In the hallway, Zuko could already hear many shouts echoing above, making his determination to get on deck higher. Zuko could feel someone following his every wobbly step once again, but scowled, telling himself to keep going.

All Zuko kept doing was falling, getting back up, falling then getting back up. It was the same over again, but once he reached the door that lead to the deck, he struggled to open it.

With one mighty push, he managed to open it, only to see havoc across his deck. Rain and ocean water flooded over, as men struggled by it. The ship tossed to each side, throwing everyone with it—everyone was in need of help.

Zuko quickly raced on deck, shouting orders to his men, to run everything in order, so they could get through this storm. It was only a matter of time when he heard at shout by his Uncle,

"Prince Zuko, look out!"

His Uncle pointed to something behind him.

As Zuko turned his body around to the direction he was pointing at, he found a huge wave looming over him. That's all he remembered before blacking out, watching the sea consume him.

-

Zuko opened his eyes weakly. Groaning as an amount of pain washed over him, he's senses activated. He could feel the warmness underneath him, and the gentle waves rocking slowly and silently. He could see he was in a metal room, and assuming it was his own, he tried to recall what happened and why he was in pain.

'Something about…THE STORM!'

Once that had been thought, he quickly tossed the white sheet off of him, and heaved himself up.

"Zuko! Your up!"

Iroh, who had opened the metal door when Zuko was getting up, raced to help him.

"Sit back down!"

Zuko did nothing but comply. His legs were to weak to respond to his stubbornness. Once he sat down, Iroh immediately pushed him lightly, so he could lay instead.

"How long have I been out? What happened?" Zuko found his voice very raspy, but assumed it was because he gulped down a lot of water when he was tossed to sea.

"Zuko it was unbelievable! It was like the water spirits did not want you in their waters! Either that, or you must have an angel watching over you, that's a powerful waterbender!"

For one second in the Prince's mind, the picture of the water tribe girl flashed his mind. Shaking his head, he tried to drain all the information in. When he got nothing out of it he replied,

"What?"

His Uncle chuckled and said, "let me get some tea and I'll explain everything. Your voice sounds like a dying hog-monkey!"

Iroh got up, smiling at his nephew, and continued, "I suggest you don't get up Prince Zuko, seeing that you have broke 3 ribs, and have one big nasty bruise on your right leg."

With that, Iroh left for his tea.

And Zuko laid there dumbfounded. But that soon was replaced with fear and confusion when he heard someone giggle.

"Who's there!" He shouted as he got up to a sitting position to search the room. Once again nothing was shown and there was complete, dead silence. "I said who's there!"

He was positively sure that he had heard a voice giggle, he had to know if he was hallucinating or not.

Suddenly he heard breathing. And footsteps. Then,

"You can hear me?"

* * *

LIKE IT! REVIEW PLZ, TELL ME HOW PISSED YOU ARE, OR HOW HAPPY YOU ARE THAT I CHANGED IT. IM BOTH...BUT PLZ FLAME ME, CRITIZE AND BLAH BLAH BLAH, JUST DON'T FLAME THE PAIRING!

-Jackie 


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